> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.less.tech/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# String to Date

> Turn weird date formats into date/datetime formats

The String to Date tool supports a quite narrow functionality. It is used to turn custom date column into date/datetime data formats. Generally Less is relatively good at autodetecting date formats with the [Columns](/tools/basics/columns), but sometimes date formats require manual parsing. That's where the String to Date tool is useful.

### Syntax

You tell Less how to parse your date by referring to certain formats. You can use the syntax below.

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Date Specifiers">
    | Format | Description                   |
    | ------ | ----------------------------- |
    | `%Y`   | Full year (e.g., 2001)        |
    | `%m`   | Month number (01-12)          |
    | `%d`   | Day of month (01-31)          |
    | `%B`   | Full month name (e.g., July)  |
    | `%b`   | Abbreviated month (e.g., Jul) |
    | `%D`   | Short date (MM/DD/YY)         |
    | `%F`   | ISO date (YYYY-MM-DD)         |
    | `%v`   | VMS date (DD-Mon-YYYY)        |
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Time Specifiers">
    | Format | Description                          |
    | ------ | ------------------------------------ |
    | `%H`   | Hour in 24h format (00-23)           |
    | `%I`   | Hour in 12h format (01-12)           |
    | `%M`   | Minute (00-59)                       |
    | `%S`   | Second (00-60)                       |
    | `%p`   | AM/PM marker                         |
    | `%R`   | 24-hour time (HH:MM)                 |
    | `%T`   | 24-hour time with seconds (HH:MM:SS) |
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Common Format Examples">
    | Format              | Example              |
    | ------------------- | -------------------- |
    | `%Y-%m-%d`          | 2001-07-08           |
    | `%d/%m/%Y`          | 08/07/2001           |
    | `%B %d, %Y`         | July 08, 2001        |
    | `%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S` | 2001-07-08 13:45:00  |
    | `%d-%b-%Y %I:%M %p` | 08-Jul-2001 01:45 PM |
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

### Configuration

The String to Date tool consists of three required input.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Column">
    Select the column with the date that you want to parse.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Column name">
    Input the name of the new column that will be created.

    <Tip>
      You can reference existing columns in the new column name if you want to overwrite the existing column.
    </Tip>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Format">
    Input the format of your date column using the syntax options above. Check out the example below to see how.
  </Step>
</Steps>

### Example: Parsing a date like 22 Aug 2025

Here we have a date column that is formatted as day, then short abbreviated month and then the year (22 Aug 2025). We want to parse this into a date/datetime data format.

<Frame>
  <img className="rounded-md" src="https://mintcdn.com/less-51/tvKC10PJfN6EkkU2/images/tools/string-to-date/Example.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=tvKC10PJfN6EkkU2&q=85&s=fc4843d2e7998f645032b3023e655894" width="3936" height="2660" data-path="images/tools/string-to-date/Example.png" />
</Frame>